August 19, 2020: More than 52,000 Nerf Hasbro Super Soaker XP20 & XP30 toys (sold at Target) recalled for Lead violation.

Wednesday, August 19, 2020

Nearly 53,000 Nerf Hasbro Super Soaker toy water guns [sold exclusively at Target] have been recalled for a CPSC Lead content standard violation. Here’s the link to the Consumer Product Safety Improvement Act of 2008 (the standards that were violated by this toy.) The specific violation is that the ink in the sticker on the toy (with the logo markings) has unsafe levels of Lead. A link to the full recall notice is at the end of this post. 

Why is there Lead in the logo markings?

Unfortunately, I have found in my research that it is very common for logo markings on otherwise “Lead-free” products to test positive for high levels of Lead. It seems like the companies put energy into ensuring that their products are Lead-safe, as far as the general manufacturing supply chain is concerned — but then let their guard down / don’t “connect the dots” when designing the specifics for their logo markings. This is true for so many glass, plastic and ceramic items I have tested (and you can find dozens of examples of this phenomenon here on my blog if you scroll through the posts with XRF test results for products).

• Here’s an example of a ceramic frying pan with Lead in the logo markings.
• Here’s an example of a metal water bottle with Lead in the logo markings.
• Here’s an example of a glass baby bottle with Lead in the logo markings.
• Here’s an example of a porcelain dish with Lead in the logo markings.

I have not yet personally tested one of these toys (using high-precision XRF analysis) — and would love the opportunity to do so (primarily because the CPSC violation notices never list the actual Lead levels in the readings of the component that is in violation of their standards and I am quite curious to know specifically how much Lead was found). If you have one of these toys (shown in the two photos above) and are interested in sending it to me for testing so I can report on the exact levels of Lead found, I would be thankful for that opportunity. Please be in touch.

“Does this mean other water gun toys are toxic, too?”

It is unlikely that other water guns (mass-produced and sold at big box stores today) have a similar problem. Modern (recent; post-2011) hard plastic toys rarely have Lead concerns anymore. Toys sold Target also rarely have Lead paint concerns. While any toys being sold with Leaded components is a big problem, this incident is actually an example of Target responding quickly and decisively (comprehensively) to the findings of Lead in one of their toys, which is why (in general) Target, in my experience, is a good vendor.  If Target discovers that they have sold a toy (or other product intended for use by children) with Lead – there will usually be a recall with mainstream public news coverage to alert consumers — which is precisely how such supply chain/manufacturing slip-ups should be addressed — but tragically, this is not the case with many smaller chains and vendors!

My takeaway

In general, I avoid buying water guns like these – because they are plastic, and they break easily – which means they have a short life as a toy (especially in my house with four boys!) and therefore have a doubly-negative environmental impact.On the rare occasion that I  do cave and buy any sort of water gun as a novelty, I stick with the small, hard plastic ones with no painted markings at all [and I also try to buy ones that are not styled/shaped like guns!]. I also always avoid buying plastic toys that are from lesser-known brands or smaller vendors, as they are less-likely to even do appropriate testing that would provide the data that would result in a recall.

As always, please let me know if you have any questions and I will do my best to answer them personally.

Tamara Rubin
#LeadSafeMama

Below is the full text from the CPSC recall notice:

Click the image below for the direct link to the post on the CPSC’s website: